Our Lenten offering this year will focus on literacy through gifts of books. Our monetary offering will go to “Reading is Terrific.” This is a literacy program for first graders at Title I elementary schools in Montgomery County. The vast majority of the students in these schools are minority, low-income, special ed., and English Students of Other Languages. Readers go into these classrooms once a month to read to the children and each child then receives a hard cover edition of the book. Take a moment to look at the smiling faces on the poster in the narthex. At the end of the school year each child will have a personal library of nine books! 1,100 books are distributed each month. Frank Ierardi, a longtime member of Saint Anne’s, is one of the coordinators of this non-profit organization. All donations go to books for the children.

In an article by Richard Cohen in The Washington Post, he states “Low-income minority children are already four months behind the national average in reading and math scores by the time they arrive in kindergarten. There are many reason for this – too much television time, too few books in the home, the mother doesn’t read to her kids.” "The Reading is Terrific" program helps these children catch up by making reading fun, encouraging them to read, and by putting books in their homes. There are currently 37 first grade classes in the program. Please be generous in giving to these children. There will be envelopes for your offerings in the Sunday bulletin.

We are also collecting books and craft supplies for Remote Area Medical (RAM USA) –which provides medical, dental and vision assistance for free in high-poverty areas. There will be two events this year: one in Emporia, VA, and one in Baltimore, MD. There will be a "reading section" or "kids corner" close to one of the waiting rooms. While parents are waiting for their numbers to be called for medical assistance, their children are entertained with stories and craft projects. They are given books to take home. As mentioned, craft supplies such as crayons, paper, glue sticks, glitter, rubber stamps and pads are needed. There will be a bin for your offerings in the narthex. More information is available on the poster.